Booth spray systems for the application of skin lotions and cosmetics dispense a selectable variety of skin treatments including moisturizer and tanning treatments. Salon spray booths for spray tanning and skin treatments offer multiple spray sessions with selections from a wide variety of skin lotions and tanning products. Many of the booth systems have moving gantries that apply the spray evenly over the full body or can be user-programmed to apply only to the face or legs. Some booths are outfitted with booth pre-heaters and full body drying systems.
Automated booth spray systems used in salons consist basically of a booth structure that is either fully or partially enclosed with single or multiple spray nozzles positioned inside the booth. Reference is made to the following references generally directed to booth-type spray systems, the disclosures of which are hereby incorporated by reference: U.S. Pat. No. 6,199,557 to Laughlin filed on Apr. 19, 1999; U.S. Pat. No. 7,004,407 to Cooper filed on Dec. 4, 2002; U.S. Pat. No. 7,886,684 to Cooper et al. filed on Apr. 28, 2006; U.S. Pat. No. 8,201,288 to Thomason et al. filed on Aug. 24, 2009; U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2010/0266776 by Cooper et al. filed on Apr. 20, 2010; and U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2011/0133004 by Thomason et al. filed on Oct. 22, 2010.
The spray session is activated by the person receiving the spray treatment within the enclosure. An exhaust fan may be used to prevent overspray inside the booth or drifting spray escaping from the booth. Other booth features may include lights, voice prompts in different languages, heaters, skin drying systems, and interior washing and rinsing systems.
The electrical and mechanical components in the rinse, drain, spray, gantry, heat and exhaust systems of these automated spray booths are operated in a sequence during a spray session by a microprocessor based or other sequential controller with a manual input device such as a keypad or button panel. Spray session parameters such as liquid flow, duration of spray, heater temperature, and the like are set and adjusted by input to the controller. Salon personnel and/or consumers using the spray system may manually enter certain operation parameters for each spray session.
The spray solution used for spray tanning is generally a water-based mixture of DHA (dihydroxyacetone) and/or erythrulose and various other skin care ingredients such as aloe vera. Often a cosmetic bronzer is added along with pleasant scents and other ingredients to enhance the tanning results and experience, such as formulations to balance skin pH. For best results, the spraying of the solution utilizes a finely atomized spray (mist), as opposed to using a spray stream or large spray droplets, because the mist of solution provides even coverage and reduces the risk of streaking or running of the spray deposit.
The spray systems of these booth-type skin treatment sprayers generally include single or multiple containers or tanks containing liquid spray solution which is fed to the spray nozzles by single or multiple pumps or other methods, such as gravity or Venturi. Flow is generally controlled by solenoid valves and a mechanical pump for which flow rate can be varied by varying motor speed or pressure. Multiple nozzles may be stationary and positioned along the interior walls of the booth, or they may be mounted to a moving gantry. A spray system disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 7,886,684 to Cooper et al., the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference, utilizes a single dose cartridge tank system. This system is configured with a single nozzle that oscillates while moving on a gantry. In addition, sprayers can be operated without a mechanical pump, relying on gravity or Venturi feed to the nozzle.
Multiple batch tank systems on skin care booth sprayers allow approximately 30 to more than 100 sessions between changing or re-filling the tanks Booths with multiple tanks have the advantage of allowing a sequence of spray sessions with a choice of various lotions applied one after the other; for instance a moisturizer treatment may be applied after a tanning treatment, or a skin pH balancing spray may be applied before a tanning spray. Some booth models use refillable multiple tank systems with 2, 3 or 4 tanks. Many booth spray systems accommodate a more convenient bag-in-box system where multiple refillable and/or replaceable containers are received in a bay drawer of the unit as disclosed by U.S. Pat. No. 8,201,288 to Thomason et al. filed on Aug. 24, 2009, the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference.
The liquid flow system of a booth-type spray system may clog resulting in less efficient pumping and possible under application of the skin treatment solution. Initially, the clog may not be significant enough to be immediately recognized. Thus, the spray system may continue to be operable but may provide incorrect flow rates and result in an inferior tanning experience. If the clog worsens, it may cause the pumping system to become inoperable and disable the spray booth during a spray tanning session of a paying customer.